Aston Villa manager Unai Emery has suffered a major blow as news emerges regarding one of his key players.
Unai Emery sparks Aston Villa revival after disastrous start 25/26
Villa have started to show signs of life after a difficult start to the new Premier League season, sparking a mini-revival that has renewed hope among fans.
The Villans really struggled early on, especially going forward, and it took them five league matches to even score their first league goal of the campaign.
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Aston Villa’s Premier League results so far this season |
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Aston Villa 0-0 Newcastle |
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Brentford 1-0 Aston Villa |
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Aston Villa 0-3 Crystal Palace |
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Everton 0-0 Aston Villa |
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Sunderland 1-1 Aston Villa |
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Aston Villa 3-1 Fulham |
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Aston Villa 2-1 Burnley |
A huge sigh of relief swept across Sunderland’s away side when Matty Cash’s long-range shot ended Villa’s incredible goal drought, and they were unlucky not to come away from the North East with their first three points of 2025/2026.
Once bottom of the table, Villa have enjoyed a resurgence since Cash’s strike – winning their last four matches in all competitions – including back-to-back Europa League wins and back-to-back league victories.
NSWE struggled to build on last season in the transfer window, with failure to qualify for the Champions League at the end of 24/25 certainly coming back to haunt them in that regard.
PSR has undoubtedly prevented Emery’s side from fully investing in the squad, with Villa only able to spend around £26.5m in total last summer as they completed last-minute loan deals for Harvey Elliott and Jadon Sancho in a bid to strengthen the squad.
Taking this into account, Villa’s renewed form under Emery could be seen as even more impressive as some of their rivals have benefited from mammoth spending.
Emery has also been without some key men due to injuries, including Belgium international Youri Tielemans.
The former Leicester City star was a mainstay under Emery last season, recording 15 goals in 53 appearances in total, but he was forced to sit out Villa’s recent excellent run with a calf problem.
Tielemans has watched from the sidelines since the 1-1 draw at Sunderland and, according to reports from Belgium, the 28-year-old will now be out for some time to come.
Unai Emery dealt Aston Villa blow as news emerges about Youri Tielemans
Het Nieuwsblad and La Derniere Heure, via Sport Witness, both state that Tielemans is now expected to be out for longer than expected.
The £150,000-a-week playmaker could even miss November’s World Cup qualifiers against Liechtenstein and Kazakhstan, meaning Tielemans could also be unavailable for any of Villa’s upcoming games after this October break.
The matches Youri Tielemans should now miss for Aston Villa
Emery’s side face Tottenham, Go Ahead Eagles, Man City, Liverpool, Maccabi Tel Aviv and high-flying Bournemouth before the next international round in November, with Tielemans now set to potentially miss all of those crucial matches against top-flight opposition.
The 28-year-old’s setback is undoubtedly a blow for Emery.
As a key influence, Tielemans brings creativity, control and experience to the heart of the team’s midfield. His ability to dictate the pace, link defense to attack and contribute with goals and assists places him at the heart of Villa’s operation.
Although Emery has coped well without Tielemans in Villa’s recent games, with his last appearance coming in the 0-0 draw at Everton, he will be sorely missed when Villa face Spurs, City and Premier League champions Liverpool.
